5. CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY SEC. 120A & 120B.pdf

law

1. CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY:
SEC. 120A & 120B,

2. ➢A grouping of two or more people together for illegal intentions is
referred to as a conspiracy.
➢It is an agreement between two or more people to do anything that is
against the law.
➢A substantive offence under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (I.P.C.) is
criminal conspiracy.

3. ➢In most cases, the accused is also charged with another substantive
offence under the I.P.C. or another statute in addition to the crime of
criminal conspiracy.
➢The crime of criminal conspiracy is covered in Chapter V-A of the
I.P.C., which was added in 1913.

4. Definition of Criminal Conspiracy
Section 120A I.P.C.
➢Section 120A of the I.P.C. defines criminal conspiracy as an agreement of two
or more persons to do or cause to be done-
1.An illegal act, or;
2.An act that is not illegal by illegal means.
According to Section 43 of the I.P.C., "illegal" refers to everything that
constitutes a crime, is illegal under the law, or gives rise to a civil lawsuit.

5. ➢According to the proviso appended to Section 120A, there is no need to
establish an overt conduct or illegal omission in order for there to be a criminal
conspiracy- merely agreeing to commit a crime qualifies.
➢Only where the conspiracy's goal is the performance of an illegal act that does
not constitute a crime is such an overt action required.
➢Whether the unlawful behaviour is the agreement's primary goal or is only a
byproduct of it is irrelevant.

6. ➢There must be at least two conspirators in order for an unlawful conduct or an
otherwise legal act to be performed or caused to be performed.
➢However, if the other conspirators are unidentified, absent, or deceased, one
individual may be charged with criminal conspiracy on their own.
➢It takes two people to do an unlawful conduct or an otherwise legitimate act
using unlawful methods.

7. Punishment of criminal conspiracy
Section 120B of I.P.C. provides for punishment of criminal conspiracy-
Where the criminal conspiracy is to commit a serious offence: In cases where the
conspiracy is to commit an offence-
➢Punishable with death,
➢Imprisonment for life or
➢Rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or upwards
➢and where no express punishment is provided under the Code for such conspiracy,
➢every person who is a party to such a criminal conspiracy shall be punished in the
same manner as if he had abetted such offence.

8. ➢Criminal conspiracy to commit offences other than those covered in the first
category:
➢Whoever is a party to such a criminal conspiracy shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding six months or
with fine or with both.

9. CASES
Parveen v. State of Haryana (2021) SC
➢The case's basic facts are as follows: Four suspects were being transported by rail
from the Central Jail in Jaipur to the CJM Court in Bhiwani under the protection
of the police. Four young lads entered their compartment at Nangal Pathani
Railway Station, assaulted the police team, and attempted to free the accused.
➢In addition to attempting to grab the official carbine, the accused who were in
detention also tried to flee. The Head Constable was allegedly shot by one of the
defendants, suffering injuries before eventually passing away.

10. ➢One of the defendants was caught, but the other three escaped.
➢Sections 224, 225, 332, 353, 392, 307, 302, and 120-B of the IPC as well as a
few crimes under the Arms Act were utilised to prosecute the accused.
➢The Sessions Court found the defendants guilty, and after an appeal, the High
Court of Punjab and Haryana upheld their judgement.

11. ➢Parveen @ Sonu, the appellant, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.
➢According to the Honourable Supreme Court, it is risky to convict someone of
violating Section 120B of the I.P.C. in the absence of proof that the conspirators
had a common goal of conducting an illegal act.
➢In the absence of any more corroborating evidence, the Court ruled that the
appellant should be declared innocent and that it would not be prudent to uphold
the accused's conviction based on the supposed confessional remarks of the co-
accused.

12. Kehar Singh and others v. State (Delhi Administration) (1988) SC
➢In this instance, the Honourable Supreme Court ruled that an agreement between
two or more people to commit an illegal conduct is the most crucial element of
the conspiracy crime.
➢Whether or not such an unlawful act is carried out in accordance with the
agreement, it is nonetheless illegal and punished in and of itself.

13. Major E.G. Barsay v. The State of Bombay (1962) SC
➢In this instance, it was decided that the essence of the criminal conspiracy crime
under Section 120A IPC is an agreement to breach the law.
➢Even if the illegal conduct that the participants to such an agreement agreed to
perform has not been carried out, they are still guilty of criminal conspiracy.
➢The Court further ruled that the performance of many illegal acts can constitute
a conspiracy and that the agreement of all participants to do a single illegal act is
not a requirement for the crime of criminal conspiracy.

14. Ram Narain Popli v. C.B.I. (2003) SC
In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 120B criminal
conspiracy convictions may be obtained by showing just that two or more
people had agreed to do an illegal conduct or an act by illegal means.